Great day to reach 100th on the Orchy 3
Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:11 amAfter my short day in the Cairngorms http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=61862
I decided I would make things a bit more interesting ,and take in 3 Munros from Bridge of Orchy
The forecast was for clear tops with a cold wind from the north and chance of some snow
so it all added to the occasion ,
- Straight ahead to the Bealach
- Towards the Blackmount tops
There was not a bit of wind when starting out so the jacket was in the bag from the start
as I was setting out at 5.40am to walk it was not surprising there were no other cars parked up
I do remember last year when I done Ben Dorain and Beinn a,Dothaidh the path up to the bealach
was a river in some parts and a bogfest in others
What a difference today the pathe was bone dry and the boggy parts had a good frost on them
so it was a pleasure not a chore to walk in ,
Nearly an hour later we were at the cairn marking the top of the bealach
and looking back now the views were just fantastic
- Blackmount and Etive tops
- My walking partners
- Beinn Sheasgarnaich from the Bealach ?
From here I went high right along the side of Ben Dorain as I had been along here before
without a camera and wanted a certain pic
- A nice set of waterfalls on side of Ben Dorain
- This pic I wanted Stob Coire Odhair in the middle of the bealach
Now I dropped back down to cross the Allt coire a,Ghabhalaich which was no problem
due to the dry spell
From here I climbed up and traversed along Beinn a Dothaidh dropping over to meet the Allt na Loin
- Beinn Odhar centre pic
- Ben Lui ,Ben Oss & Dubhcraig
I walked down to meet the Landrover track that seemed well washed out with the winter rains
and from here took the direct and very steep ascent up Beinn a.Chuirn
the dogs had no problems but some of the scree was very loose so took a bit of time
taking care its a long way down
- Auch Viaduct from Beinn a'Chuirn
- Beinn Mhanaich
From here its an easy walk and final ascent to the Beinn Mhanaich cairn
it was a surprisingly long walk to get here with my detour and choice of ascent
but it gave some very nice views
- Beinn Mhanaich summit with next target Beinn a.Chreachain in the background
Decending from here into Glean Cailliche a lot of height is lost ,
i then crossed the Allt Cailliche on the west side of the small stream
that runs down Coire a,Mhath Ghamhna ,before ascending into the coire
it was time for a well earned drink and breakfast for 3 ,the dogs i fed before setting out
but being Labradors they sure know how to put on a sad face when food is around
so needless to say i shared mine
The pull up through the Coire is quite steep also and i was feeling it specially
in my right foot now as i had went over on it in the Cairngorms and definetly have done something
with a few breaks i reached the bealach and what a shock the wind was now straight on from the north
and it was bitter cold ,so into the bag and the jacket on
I will say 90% of the walk so far was on pathless terrain so it was nice now to be on some sort of path
and with renewed vigour i was of up the remainder of the ascent and reach my 100th summit
and i cant say how pleased i was to reach this target after such an eventful year it felt like heaven
- 100th Munro what a feeling :-)
- The lads
- Out over Rannoch moor towards Glencoe
So it was off from here to start my next 100
looking around there was a fair number of snow showers but as yet none here
the walk along the ridge was very nice though a tad cold and reaching the point
for the ascent up to Beinn Achaladair i met the first walker of the day we chatted a few mins
then i wished him a nice day and then the snow came on the clag came with it and visabilty
was zero
oh well cant be great all the timeso onwards and upwards to the summit with no visabilty
- Beinn Achaladair summit in the clag
Walking along from the summit the dogs surprised 2 other walkers taking shelter
in behind some rocks ( Labradors have a keen nose for food
)Just past here the snow went off and the clag lifted giving some great views
- Loch Tulla
- Ben Nevis and the Mamores
From here its down to the bealach and head back over to Coire a Ghabhalach
i will say anyone doing this walk when dropping back into the Coire
keep to the LEFT hand side of the stream as there are some very bad crags
on the side of Beinn a Dothaidh
I kept high below the crags and headed up over the bealach and dropped back down
the rocky path to the Bridge of Orchy
Summary one very happy walker and one very sore foot still painfull and now next day
Oh well wheres there pleasure theres pain
well done on reaching 100.
